Every Cloud
by CaitlinWalker
Summary: Joan returns to home to Arthur, with the heavy cloud of recent events hanging over them. *One-shot, set after 4x14*


"_Hi, Arthur, it's me. I-I didn't want to wake you before I left this morning, but I just…wanted to let you know that I had a really good appointment at the doctor's. Everything looks great with the baby…I just wish I could say the same about us. Listen, I hope you know that even if we're fighting, I will always fight for you. This probably isn't the best time to tell that I won't be home for dinner because I'm working late, but…I hope you're up when I get there. I love you."_

He could recite that voicemail off by heart. Pinpoint the point where her voice cracked, where she was struggling to hold it altogether.

She hadn't returned that night. Deep down, in the heart that loved her, he knew that she would be fine. But as much as she was the strong, independent Joan Campbell, she was still carrying his child. Their child. She was nearly eight months pregnant. The field was no place for either of them.

They should be home. With him.

Toying with playing the message again, to fill the empty and quiet house with her voice, the sound of keys scratching in the lock made his heart skip a beat and filled his stomach with butterflies. He placed his phone on the coffee table and stood up from the armchair just as Joan entered the living room.

"Hey…" A smile snuck onto his lips at the sight of her. She looked fine. Hell, she had never looked better in his eyes. "You're back."

She dropped her bag onto the sofa and approached him. "Sorry, Arthur. Some things came up. I would have called you but, again, it was a bad hour and I didn't want to wake you. I'm…I'm sorry if I worried you."

"You did," he muttered. "But you're home now. And that's all that matters."

Joan nodded, the slightest trace of a smile on her lips too. Her eyes were seeking his but he dodged them. "I missed you."

He looked up, at her and sighed, trying to let go of his anger. "I missed you too. The pair of you. What happened out there?"

"Well…I really don't even know where to begin."

"I heard the beginning is always a nice place to start," he remarked, desperately hoping humour would help shift that dark cloud that had been looming over them for the past few days.

"OK, after the doctor's I was planning on coming home but, well. You know our delightful FBI friend, Mr Rossabi?"

"The hell did he want?" The legal quicksand that he was drowning in had already begun to pull her in. Arthur hoped to God, she wasn't getting dragged into this whole mess even more. The fact that she had lost her job, the job that she had worked so damn hard for, and that, that had made him feel even worse. All he had wanted to do was protect her. What sort of man was he, if he couldn't protect her?

That was why the past few hours had cut him up. Why he hadn't slept. Because something could have happened to her, to them, and he couldn't do anything, just like what had happened with Teo? Losing Teo was hard enough. Losing Joan and the baby…even the thought of that was torture.

She continued. "It was about our other friend, you know our good old buddy, Mr Wilcox?"

_Wilcox._ Arthur hated everything about that sad and deluded bastard. "Unfortunately, I do have the privilege of knowing him, yes. But unless this story ends with that son of a bitch dead, I'm not that interested, I'm afraid."

Joan nodded.

"Wait? Is-."

"No. But, compared to twenty-four hours ago, we do have a better chance. Annie, Auggie and Calder are flying out to Hong Kong to work on that for us."

"That's good. That's-." He frowned, his eyes narrowing. "Wait. Did you say Annie?"

"I did," Joan said. Her smile, combined with those exact words were reminiscent of when he had also done a double take at how coolly she had informed him they were having a boy, back in his prison cell a few weeks ago.

"Annie is alive?"

"Yes. Although, now she's calling herself Jessica Matthews and is now brunette. But don't worry. She hasn't changed _that _much. She still seems to be getting into car accidents on an as regular basis as before."

Arthur chuckled as his wife did. "So, Annie is alive? How did all this happen? How did you find her?"

"She sorta….ran into me? Yeah, I was tracking one of Henry's couriers and, up pops Annie."

"Wow, always an eventful day, huh?" He took a few steps closer to her and reached for her arm. "But tracking down that son of a bitch's couriers? Honey. You're eight months pregnant. I don't want you to be putting yourself in situations like that again, OK?"

"I'm sorry, Arthur." She gently took his hand and held it in hers. "I don't want to either…I was toying with the idea of finally going on maternity leave."

"Do it." He squeezed her hand. "Please. I don't want any more sleepless nights, not knowing where you are or what you're doing. I just want you here. With me."

She smiled, going to reach for his cheek but pulling away before she made contact, no doubt wondering whether it was appropriate given recent circumstances. "I will. I promise. I'm taking today as a sick day. I'll go in tomorrow and tell them."

"Thank you."

After a few seconds, Joan let go of him, turning to leave.

"Hey," he gently called after her. "Tell me about the baby. How did it go yesterday?"

She stopped, turned and came back to him. Closer this time, with the only real distance between them the size of her belly. "It went good. Better than good actually."

"So, we're still on for December the 17th?"

She seemed hesitant to confirm. But after a few seconds, she did. "We are. But…"

"That's when my hearing starts, I know. But, honey, things will be OK. I will be there, somehow, when it happens, OK?"

Tears were glistening in her eyes as she looked up to him. "I want that. More than anything in the world. But-."

"No buts," he ordered as he wiped a tear from her cheek. "I promise you. Things are all gonna work out fine. I'll be a free man and we'll be a family."

Joan blinked, more tears escaping. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her as close as he could. She rested her head on his chest and closed her eyes as she finally seemed to relax.

He kissed the top of her head. "Others may not see our marriage as perfect but to me, it is. So what if we have our troubles? I've got a beautiful wife who is willing to fight for me and is also carrying my son. How can I ever wish for anything more than that?"

"Arthur," she mumbled into his chest. "About Teo. I'm so sorry. You know that-."

"Hey," he hushed her. "Hey, it's OK."

"What I done…how I kept it a secret?" She mumbled, her voice hitching everytime she said "I". "How can you say it's OK?"

"Because I love you." He gently pried her from his chest, so that he could look her in the eye. "And I forgive you. I know that you were only doing your job and you only didn't tell me because you were protecting me. What happened to Teo is entirely the fault of someone we_ are _gonna take down."

"I-."

"No, Joan. Listen to me. You did nothing wrong. And I'm sorry for even thinking for a second that you did. Because," he stroked her cheek. "I love you, Joan. And I don't want this to ever make me question something that I have always known since the day that I met you. I don't ever want to lose you."

"I-I love you too, Arthur." She cupped his cheeks with both hands. "I don't like fighting with you."

"Then don't." He smiled. "Let's move on from this…I know it won't be easy. But nothing that is ever worth having is. Let's try to be a normal family."

"Let's."

"Good." He brushed back loose strands of hair, tucking them behind her ear. He noticed the dark circles under her eyes. "Sweetheart, you look exhausted."

"I-I didn't get much sleep either, last night."

"Where did you stay?"

"At a motel…I had to drive Annie to meet up with Calder and Auggie. I just stayed at the nearest place I could. But I…couldn't sleep. Not without you. Plus I had to drive back."

"You _must_ be exhausted then," he laughed. "You're going straight to bed missy. No arguments."

"Fine," she played along, huffing.

"Good girl. And when you _finally _take maternity leave, please let me fuss over you. Let me try to make up for things and make myself feel useful."

"I'm still not complaining."

"Good. Then you can expect breakfast in bed, back rubs and delivery men bringing you flowers on a day-to-day basis because I still can't leave this house to physically go and pick them out myself."

"And I'm still not complaining about either, especially about the latter as it means I get to have you all day."

He grinned. "You know at some point, most people would probably start complaining about that one."

"Nope. Not at all. Because most people don't love you as much as I do," she placed her lips on his, before suddenly breaking it off. "Before I forget," her voice giddy with excitement as she grabbed for her bag. "From the ultrasound yesterday."

She handed him the printout of the scan. It was the third one that he had seen and it never failed to amaze him. And never, ever would the sight of his precious boy not fill his heart with so much joy and so much pride.

He'd never forget Teo but this was helping to heal his hurt. It was his second chance to be a father.

And it was the chance, the chance that he had thought and feared that had long past, he'd always wanted. The chance to start a family with the woman that he loved.

"Honey…" Tears in his eyes, his smile wide, he looked up at her. "He's perfect."

"Guess, he's gonna be taking after his father, huh?" She said proudly as she rubbed her bump.

"Well, thankfully I don't see the eyebrows in this, so maybe not." He grinned. "But if he is even a fraction as beautiful as his mother, I'm gonna be over the moon."

"Arthur, you're making me cry again."

"Hey, I'm making myself cry. I wish I could have been there yesterday."

She nodded. "Yeah, me too…but we can't dwell on it. What did you get up to instead?"

"I was busy."

"Uh-huh."

He placed the photograph onto the coffee table before he took her hand. "Follow me," he said with a wink and he led her up the stairs, along the hallway and into the spare room which was, from now on, going to be the nursery. "I'm not gonna lie, it did take me a while."

Her eyes fell on the crib he had assembled yesterday afternoon. "Good job, Arthur."

He nodded. "And if madam would like to look to the left." He pointed towards the little chest of drawers and shelves he had also assembled in her absence. "Guess I'm not as useless as you think."

"Clearly not," she smiled. "This room is really starting to take shape, huh? Not gonna paint it at some point to, Mr Handyman?"

"Well, I was thinking that was something we could perhaps do together?"

"I'd love that."

"Me too. Now," he said as he folded his arms across his chest, remembering how he had promised minutes ago to commence fussing over her. "You're tired. Bed."

"Fine, fine, I'm going."

"Less of the attitude, Mackenzie."

Her face lit up at the name. Her maiden name. His old nickname. "Feels like forever since you called me that."

"If it feels like forever then good. Because I want forever with you. Hell," he placed his hand on her stomach. "Us."

Joan placed hers on top. "It is gonna work out, Arthur. We've got-."

Arthur slightly gasped, grinning.

"What?"

"The little guy just kicked."

"I know…it's wonderful, isn't it? Our little guy."

"Already trying to kick ass…with his pedigree, he'd make a damn fine operative." _Just like Teo._ He cursed himself for thinking it.

"Arthur," Joan must have noticed it too, her tone softening. "He'd make a damn good lawyer too…or a doctor or anything."

"Yeah," he felt his sorrow slowly lifting at the life and possibilities that lay ahead for his boy. "He will."

"Yes, he will. Because he'll have two parents that already love him to the moon and back."

"He sure does," he nodded, smiling as she did. "N-now…talking about his parents. Shouldn't his mother be going somewhere right now?"

She sighed. "Bed…I'm going." She tugged on his arm, looking at him hopefully. "Arthur?"

He nodded, following her lead. Last night he couldn't sleep because the bed and his life felt empty. Now? He had her back and both felt that bit fuller. Actually no.

The latter didn't feel fuller. It felt complete.

**Author's Note: I am absolutely in love with the Campbells (and if you've read my other fics, I'm pretty sure you will have noticed) and I couldn't help but write this scene after watching 4x14. Especially after hearing that equally as beautiful and as it was painful voicemail that Joan left Arthur. So, just in case, we don't get a follow-up scene to this in 4x15, I just decided to write it for you.**

**I always receive such wonderful and lovely reviews, so feel free to leave me any thoughts, feedback etc. if you so wish in that box just below. If not, thank you for simply taking the time to read this. I love y'all!**


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